A Brief History of Wellington Badminton Club
The earliest records for Wellington Badminton Club dated back to 1932. At this time the club played at New Hall in Wellington and annual subscriptions amounted to the princely sum of £1-15s-0d (one pound and 15 shillings). The club joined the County Badminton Association in 1933 and started playing matches in the Shropshire league. An interesting fact about the club at this time was that it instituted a ‘Dance Committee’ to organise dances that would subsidise the finances of the club.
The earliest records for Wellington Badminton Club dated back to 1932. At this time the club played at New Hall in Wellington and annual subscriptions amounted to the princely sum of £1-15s-0d (one pound and 15 shillings). The club joined the County Badminton Association in 1933 and started playing matches in the Shropshire league. An interesting fact about the club at this time was that it instituted a ‘Dance Committee’ to organise dances that would subsidise the finances of the club.
In
1939 war broke out and the club was dissolved and reformed as a ‘War
Time Club’ although there are no records of how active the club was
during this time. The next records for Wellington Badminton Club
appear in 1947. The club continued to grow and prosper in the
post-war years with a membership of around 20-30. The club even
benefitted from a premium bond win in 1974/75 of £1000.
However,
by 1982 the fortunes of the club had declined. Membership had
dwindled to just five members and the club was forced to look for a
new venue to play badminton. The situation was resolved when the club
amalgamated with the YMCA Club, which also played in the town, to
form the Wellington YMCA Badminton Club. The new club played in the
YMCA rooms in Wellington.
In
the early 1990s the club moved to the newly constructed sports hall
at Wrekin College. Around this time the club reverted to the name
‘Wellington Badminton Club’ as it was felt there was no longer an
association with the YMCA. Membership was high at this time with a
large number of younger players. Play continued at Wrekin College on
Friday evenings until 2006 when the Shropshire County Cricket
Association took over the Friday slot at Wrekin College and the
Badminton Club was forced to look for courts elsewhere. The club
moved to the sports hall at Telford College of Arts and Technology
(TCAT).
The
move to TCAT coincided with a drop in membership. In 2011 it was
decided that neither the location of the venue nor the Friday club
night was conducive to recruiting new members. For this reason the
club moved to Tuesday night sessions in the sports hall at Blessed
Robert Johnson Catholic College (BRJ) in Wellington. Membership
increased rapidly with around 20 regular senior members, 6 juniors
and numerous visitors.
In
July 2015 BRJ school closed and in September 2015 pupils and staff
transferred to the newly built Holy Trinity Academy (HTA) at
Priorslee. We also transferred to the new school. However, our stay
at HTA was to prove short-lived. In February 2016 Wellington
Badminton Club, along with other clubs, received notification from
the school that they would no longer be hiring out their facilities.
On 1st
March 2016 the club moved to its current home of Ercall Wood
Technology College Sports Hall.
The
club plays on Tuesday evenings from 8.00 to 10.00pm. We are a relaxed
and friendly club and welcome new members and visitors.
Beginners and those who would simply like some exercise are welcome
to join us. There is the possibility of coaching for those people who
would like this. We play in the Shropshire leagues for those people
who like to play at a competitive level. We also organise a number of
social events throughout the year.
Jerry
Seymour
Chairperson
Wellington
Badminton Club